Scaevola aemula plant named Blue Wonder

ABSTRACT

A Scaevola aemula cultivar named Blue Wonder, having large, dark green leaves, intensely colored violet-blue flowers, simultaneous flowering on each stem and an overall superior branching habit.

The present invention relates to a new and distinctive cultivar ofScaevola aemula, known by its cultivar name Blue Wonder. The species isnative to Australia.

Varieties of Scaevola aemula have proven good garden plants, able toprosper in normal conditions. They are particularly popular as borderplants. The plant produces four months or more of flowering, andtolerates a high degree of climatic and soil variations.

The species is decumbent, with soft leaves and stems. Cut flowers of thespecies remain upstanding and rigid for as long as two weeks. Plants ofthe species grown in full sun exhibit vigorous and floriferouscharacteristics, although the solid should be kept reasonably moist toachieve best results.

The habit and form of the species is quite variable. All forms, however,have fan-shaped flowers which bloom in spring and summer, with theflowers varying greatly in size. Flower color is normally mauve to blue,although other colors do exist. The leaves are normally bright green. Itis an attractive potted or garden plant, with its tendency to cascade.The native Australian species is popularly known as the Fairy FanFlower.

Blue Wonder was selected by applicant from the seedling progeny from across of unknown parents of Scaevola aemula by applicant, at theOuteniqua Nursery, Emerald, Victoria, Australia. Subsequent asexualpropagation by applicant over successive generations has shown that theunique features of this new cultivar are carried over to successivegenerations. Asexual propagation can be by cuttings or by tissueculture.

Blue Wonder has not been observed under all possible environmentalconditions. The phenotype may vary significantly with variations inenvironment, such as temperature, light intensity, soil conditions,nutrients applied and length of day. For example, under hot, shadyconditions the flower color becomes relatively pale, while under cooland bright conditions the flower color is more bright and intense.

The following characteristics in combination distinguish Blue Wonderfrom other cultivars of the same species found in the wild:

1. Its vigorous habit, producing a larger and more attractive plant.

2. The leaves are larger and darker green.

3. The flowers are larger and more intense in color.

4. More flowers are produced simultaneously per stem.

5. Its overall superior branching habit.

6. Its blue violet flower color.

Blue Wonder is readily distinguishable from the closest known cultivarsof the species. The cultivar White Form is much smaller and possessesless succulent foliage. It flowers less profusely than does Blue Wonder,and its individual flowers are smaller and pure white.

The cultivar Gawler-Ras has even smaller and narrower foliage than doesWhite Form. Gawler-Ras is further characterized by weak growth, sparsebranching and lilac-purple flowers of about half the size of BlueWonder.

In comparison to its parents, Blue Wonder is superior in severalrespects. In fact, in view of the obvious improvements regarding BlueWonder, the parents were subsequently discarded.

In the accompanying color photographic drawings Sheet 1 depicts aflowering stem of Scaevola aemula in its wild form beside a specimen ofthe cultivar Blue Wonder.

Sheet 2 is a perspective view of Blue Wonder, depicting its overallappearance. The colors in these photographs are as true as is possibleto obtain in a color reproduction of this type, but the flower colordoes not correspond to the true flower color correctly expressed belowby color value. The photographic color is more reddish in tone than thetrue bluish violet flower color of Blue Wonder.

Color references are made to the Royal Horticultural Society ColourChart except where general terms of ordinary dictionary significance areused.

Growth habit: The cultivar is monopodial, perennial and herbaceous.

Stems:

Shape, size and other features.--The stems are semi-upright, prostrateor semi pendulous. The stem tips are more or less vertical. Stemdiameters vary from 2-4 mm, with lengths up to 1,000 mm. The stems arenot hollow, but contain a whitish pith zone. Stems are slightly keeled,smooth and non-pubescent.

Color.--The stems are olive green to reddish brown.

Branching habit.--Auxiliary branching from non-flowering leaf axils;branching increases from the stem tip to the base of the plant. The leafaxils on the flowering stems do not produce axillary shoots.

Foliage:

Shape in general.--The leaf shape is more or less spatulate, and theleaf margins are slightly to strongly serrated.

Color.--Upper leaf surface is dark olive-green and the lower surface islight green. Both surfaces are slightly pubescent.

Size and shape.--Strong heterophyllic tendencies; leaves on vegetativestems are relatively large and long (60-150 mm long, 15-50 mm wide),with strongly serrated margins. Leaves on flowering stems are smaller(15-40 mm long, approximately 10 mm wide). The smaller leaves are onlyslightly indented, shallowly serrate or entire. The leaf form isgenerally ovate-acuminate. Leaf shape and size can vary greatly,depending on growing conditions, light intensity and length of day.

Other features.--Older leaves are more or less succulent. Phyllotaxismore or less spiral, especially on the flowering portions of the stems.Internode length is highly variable; the internodes being longer (20-50mm) on the non-flowering portions of stems than on the floweringportions (5-30 mm).

Flowers:

Shape.--Flower is fan-shaped.

General.--Flowers appear on the leaf axils of flowering stems, oneflower per axil; sessile and without a recognizable flower stem, withtwo adjacent lanceolate leaflets approximately 10 mm in length. Floweris zygomorphous. Ovary is green, elongate-ovate in shape and about 3 mmin length.

Flower throat.--Open along the upper side, exposing the anthers andstigma, about 15 mm long, yellow with purple stripes along the edges andin the perianth region.

Perianth.--Violet blue, approximately 88B (substantially more blue thanshown in photographs). The lower surface is lighter blue with whitishwedges. Diameter of the perianth is 25-30 mm, the perianth being flatand at an obtuse angle to the throat. The perianth is semi-circularfan-shaped, and is made up of five acuminate-ovate petals fused at theirbases to form the throat.

Petal tips.--Acuminate.

Anthers.--1-2 mm long, first yellow, then brownish. Filaments are 3-4 mmlong, and protrude from the throat.

Pistils.--About 15 mm long, slightly bent, purple upper surface andgreenish lower surface. The pistil is broad, covered with 2 mm purplishhairs, and the yellowish white tip is bent downwards. In most cases,5-15 flowers are open on each stem tip simultaneously. As the flowerfades, it falls off altogether with the pistil.

Fruit: The fruit is oval-elongated, about 4-5 mm in length,greenish-purple, located in the leaf axils and sessile. One seed isproduced per fruit, which is about 3-4 mm in length, blackish-brown andsurrounded by a succulent endocarp. Seeds do not permit true to typepropagation.

I claim:
 1. A new and distinct cultivar of Scaevola aemula named BlueWonder, as illustrated and described.